🥎 Kansas Falls to Two Top-20 Programs

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Kansas softball was unable to secure an upset victory on Friday, falling to No. 15 Georgia 11-0 and No. 18 South Carolina 10-0 on day two of the Clearwater Elite Invitational at Eddie C. Moore Field.

Game One vs. No.15 Georgia

Junior Hannah Todd got her first start of the 2020 season on Friday morning against the nationally-ranked Bulldogs. Kansas looked to strike first in the contest, getting runners on first and second with one out in the top of the second inning but were unable to get a runner home after two straight strikeouts to end the inning. Georgia was able to get to Todd for the first time in the game, putting up four runs in the bottom of the second.

Kansas found themselves in a position to respond in the top of the third after getting the bases loaded with no outs thanks to two walks and an error by the Bulldogs. However, KU’s next three batters were unable to bring the runners home. Georgia then pushed their lead to 10 with a six-run third inning.

"I think against a good hitting team in Georgia we got off to a good start. Hannah Todd threw the first two innings really well and had a lot of confidence. We had opportunities early in the game with runners in scoring position that we just didn’t push across. We need to be able to find ways to score runs early in the game so that it can help both our pitchers and defense feel more confident later into the game. Right now we are just pressing a little bit too much, especially with runners in scoring position and we aren’t embracing the big moments. "

Head Coach Jennifer McFalls

Game Two vs. No. 18 South Carolina

It was a pitchers duel through the first three innings of action between the Jayhawks and the Gamecocks with neither team being able to push a run across. Kansas was looking to break that scoreless tie in the fourth inning as the team was able to get runners on first and third with two outs but came up short with a strikeout to end the inning.

South Carolina opened up the scoring with a two-run fourth inning and a one-run fifth inning before putting across the final seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to win the contest.

Key Statistics

Freshman Tatum Goff finished with a career-high six strikeouts in 5.0 innings of action against the Gamecocks.

In her first start of the season, sophomore Cheyenne Hornbuckle went 1-for-3 (.333) against South Carolina. She now sits with a team-best .429 batting average on the year after going 2-for-4 (.500) in the two games on Friday.

Next Up

Kansas will conclude the Clearwater Elite Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 15, with games against No. 21 Northwestern and No. 20 James Madison. Start times are set for 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. (CDT) respectively.